Hungary holidays + Rail travel | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/hungary+railtravel
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A budget alternative to the Orient Expresshttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/nov/04/alternative-orient-express-rail-train
An alternative train journey from Paris to Istanbul follows the route of the Orient Express, at a much less murderous price<p>The border guards were impassive men wearing black jackets, guns and surly expressions. It was the middle of the night and a cold, rain-laden wind was whipping the train, halted at a former outpost of the iron curtain.</p><p>It was classic crime thriller stuff – high wire fences, lights glowing dimly in a railway yard, the Bulgarian flag flying from a forbidding, communist-era building bristling with antennas.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/nov/04/alternative-orient-express-rail-train">Continue reading...</a>Rail travelTravelEurope holidaysBulgaria holidaysRomania holidaysGermany holidaysTurkey holidaysAgatha ChristiePaul TherouxHungary holidaysMunich holidaysIstanbul holidaysFri, 04 Nov 2011 22:45:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/nov/04/alternative-orient-express-rail-trainPhotograph: David LeveneThe Gellert Baths, Budapest. Photograph: David LevenePhotograph: David LeveneThe Gellert Baths, Budapest. Photograph: David LeveneGavin Bell2011-11-04T22:45:01ZRiding the Danube in a 5-star hotel on wheelshttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/oct/05/railtravel.luxurytravel
A new luxury train service brings a touch of glamour to central Europe. Robin McKie climbs on board<p>You know you are in for an unusual train ride when you are welcomed on board by a man called Attila. And then, while you are relaxing with a drink, you are serenaded by a piano player who calls himself Apollo. This is not your average crew on the 8.16 from Sevenoaks. But then the Danube Express is not your average rail service. Launched by Howard Trinder - former owner of Great Rail Journeys - the Express is his attempt to combine hedonistic rail travel and serious tourism with some relaxed entertainment. It is an ambitious goal, to say the least, and well worth testing. So, two weeks ago, I travelled by Eurostar from London to Paris, and then by Deutsche Bahn sleeper to Berlin, to experience the Danube Express on its maiden trip to Budapest.</p><p>It was an incongruous first encounter. There in Berlin Ostbahnhof, amid the clamour of the morning rush-hour, stood eight gleaming coaches in blue, gold and white livery with uniformed staff and managers standing to attention on the platform. This was my introduction to Attila and Apollo, not to mention Andras, Gyorgyi and the train's other personnel. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/oct/05/railtravel.luxurytravel">Continue reading...</a>Rail travelLuxury travelTravelBerlin holidaysDresden holidaysGermany holidaysBudapest holidaysHungary holidaysPrague holidaysCzech Republic holidaysSlovakia holidaysEurope holidaysSat, 04 Oct 2008 23:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/oct/05/railtravel.luxurytravelPhotograph: Robert McKieExpress delivery...Robin McKie on the Danube Express. Photograph: Robert McKiePhotograph: Robert McKieExpress delivery...Robin McKie on the Danube Express. Photograph: Robert McKieRobin McKie2008-10-04T23:01:00ZNostalgia triphttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2004/oct/23/railtravel.hungary.guardiansaturdaytravelsection
Ben Mallalieu boards the teak-panelled Royal Hungarian Express for a three-day tour of one of Europe's strangest countries<p>Similarity with any known language, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Hungarian is one the world's most impenetrable languages; it is vaguely related to Finnish (about as close as Hindi is to English) and to one or two obscure Siberian dialects, but that's it. With almost any other European language you have an instinctive glimmer of recognition. Not with Hungarian. </p><p>A few words have been borrowed from elsewhere, such as "büfé" for "cafe" and "hallo" for "goodbye", but the rest is like walking into a brick wall. The signs on lavatory doors read "Férfi" and "Nói", and you can't even begin to guess which is which. You soon work out that "tilos" means "forbidden", although what the signs are forbidding remains a mystery throughout your stay. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2004/oct/23/railtravel.hungary.guardiansaturdaytravelsection">Continue reading...</a>Rail travelTravelHungary holidaysEurope holidaysSat, 23 Oct 2004 16:52:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2004/oct/23/railtravel.hungary.guardiansaturdaytravelsectionGuardian Staff2004-10-23T16:52:29Z